Kobolds are weak, craven, and see the with a festering resentment for the rest of the world, especially members of races that seem stronger, smarter, or superior to them in any way. They proudly claim kinship to dragons, but beneath all the bluster, the comparison to their glorious cousins leaves kobolds with a profound sense of inadequacy. Though they are hardworking, clever, and blessed with a natural talent for mechanical devices and mining, they spend their days nursing grudges and hatreds instead of celebrating their own gifts. Kobold tactics specialize in traps and ambushes, but kobolds enjoy anything that allows them to harm others without putting themselves at risk. Often, they seek to capture rather than to kill, taking out their frustrations on the helpless victims they drag back to their claustrophobic lairs.

Physical Description: Kobolds are small, bipedal reptilian humanoids. Most stand around 3 feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds. They have powerful jaws for creatures of their size and noticeable claws on their hands and feet. Often kobolds' faces are curiously devoid of expression, as they favor showing their emotions by simply swishing their tails. Kobolds' thick hides vary in color, and most have scales that match the hue of one of the varieties of chromatic dragons, with red scales being predominant. A few kobolds, however, have more exotic colors such as orange or yellow, which in some tribes raises or lowers an individual's status in the eyes of his fellows.

Society: Kobolds thrive in cramped quarters far from the light of the sun. Most live in vast warrens deep beneath the earth, but a few instead prefer to make their homes beneath tangles of overgrown trees and brush. Saving their malice for other races, most kobolds get along well with their own kind. While squabbles and feuds do occur, the elders who rule kobold communities tend to settle such conflicts swiftly. Kobolds delight in taking slaves, relishing the chance to torment and humiliate them. They are also cowardly and practical, and often end up bowing to more powerful beings. If these creatures are of another humanoid race, kobolds often scheme to free themselves from subjugation as soon as possible. If the overlord is a powerful draconic or monstrous creature, however, kobolds see no shame in submission, and often shower adoration on their new leader. This is especially true if the kobolds serve a true dragon, who they tend to worship outright.

Relations: Kobolds often seethe with hatred and jealousy, but their innate caution ensures that they only act on these impulses when they have the upper hand. If unable to safely indulge their urge to physically harm and degrade members of other races, they resort to careful insults and “practical jokes” instead. They consider both dwarves and elves to be deadly rivals. Kobolds fear the brute power of half-orcs and resent humans for the dominant status that race enjoys. They believe half-elves blend the best qualities of both parent races, which strikes kobolds as fundamentally unfair. Kobolds believe halflings, small in stature, make wonderful slaves and targets for kobold rage and practical jokes. When the gnomes first arrived in the mortal realm, kobolds saw them as perfect victims. This sparked waves of retaliation and reprisal that have echoed on down through the centuries and earned the kobolds' permanent enmity.

Alignment and Religion: Kobolds readily knuckle under to superior force but rarely stop scheming to gain an edge over their oppressors. Most kobolds are lawful evil, though some, more concerned with procedure than their own personal advantage, become lawful neutral instead. Kobolds often pray to Asmodeus or other evil gods in hopes of bringing ruin to their foes or power to themselves. In addition to these deities, kobolds, supremely opportunistic, also sometimes worship nearby monsters as a way of placating them or earning their favor.

Adventurers: Kobolds rarely leave their cozy warrens by their own choice. Most of those who set out on adventures are the last of their tribe, and such individuals often settle down again as soon as they find another kobold community willing to take them in. Kobolds who cannot rein in, or at least conceal, their spiteful and malicious natures have great difficulty surviving in the larger world.

Languages: Kobolds begin play speaking only Draconic. Kobolds with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Common, Dwarven, Gnome, and Undercommon. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Light Sensitivity: Kobolds lives in darkness have caused them to suffer from light sensitivity.

Alternate Racial Traits

The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

Beast Bond Some kobolds have a talent for training animals and beasts to help them both on and off the battlefield. Kobolds with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal and Ride checks. Handle Animal and Ride are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Day Raider You're one of the few kobolds born with a greater tolerance for sunlight. You don't have light sensitivity, and you have low-light vision instead of darkvision. This racial trait replaces light sensitivity and darkvision.

Dragonmaw Your draconic heritage makes you smile- not just because it makes you happy, but also because your powerful teeth and jaws are proof of your kinship with a chromatic dragon. You gain a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of damage. Once per day, you can deal 1d6 points of additional energy damage with your bite attack. The damage type depends on your scale color: acid for black or green; electricity for blue; fire for red; cold for white. If you have a different scale color, you still gain a bite attack, but cannot deal the additional energy damage. This racial traits replaces the armor racial trait.

Dragon-Scaled Some kobolds are hatched with scales of such vivid color that their connection to a particular sort of chromatic dragon seems undeniable. Whether this coloration is just a quirk of a stray egg or a trait shared by all the members of a tribe, these kobolds gain a resistance that makes them especially suited to work alongside dragons matching the color of the kobold's scales. Black-scaled and green-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain acid resistance 5. Blue-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain electricity resistance 5. Red-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain fire resistance 5. White-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain cold resistance 5. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.

Echo Whistler By observing the noises in underground tunnels, you learned to uncannily mimic any voice or sound you heard. Three times per day, you can attempt to trick someone in this way by making a Bluff check against the listener's Sense Motive check. You get a +2 circumstance bonus on this check if you're in tunnels or other structures where your voice can echo. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Frightener Like the great dragons, you can strike fear in the hearts of your foes with your majestic presence. Few enemies suspect that you make yourself look more dangerous with simple tricks you learned back when you were newly hatched. You gain a +1 racial bonus to the DC of saving throws against spells you cast with the fear descriptor. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.

Gliding Wings Some kobolds are born with wings that, while too weak for actual flying, do allow them to fall at a very slow and safe pace. A kobold with wings can use them to glide. It can make a DC 15 Fly check to fall safely from any height without taking falling damage, as if using feather fall. When falling safely, it may make an additional DC 15 Fly check to glide, moving 5 feet laterally for every 20 feet it falls. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Jester Some kobolds swallow their pride and survive by groveling, placating, and amusing the powerful. Kobolds with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Perform checks. Diplomacy and Perform are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Prehensile Tail Your tail is especially flexible and strong, so you've learned to use it for both movement and simple tricks. You gain a +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks, and you can use your tail to draw a hidden weapon as a move action instead of as a standard action. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.

Secret Strider You have the ability to traverse the wilderness without a trace. Twice per day, you can move through natural surroundings without leaving a trail for 1 minute, increasing the DC of any attempts to track you by 10. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Shoulder to Shoulder Having lived and worked in close quarters with your tribe-mates, you've learned how to maneuver within their personal space without disturbing them. You can occupy the same space as one other Small ally without penalty. If you share a space with another kobold who has this trait, you each gain a +1 circumstance bonus to AC, as you help jostle one another out of the way of incoming attacks. You also gain a +1 racial bonus on aid another rolls. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Spellcaster Sneak Traversing the tunnels near big, nasty, hungry creatures, you learned to keep quiet- and to keep your spells quiet too. You gain a +2 racial bonus on Stealth checks, and once per day you can gain the benefit of the Silent Spell feat on a spell you cast. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Wild Forest Kobold You're one of the barbaric kobolds dwelling in the forests of the surface world. Your culture shuns artifice, but teaches how to endure the hunt. You gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception and Survival checks, and Stealth and Survival are always class skills for you. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Wyrmcrowned Your horns have grown to the extent that they appear similar to those of a dragon who shares your scale color, lending a draconic power or menace to your dealings with others. Choose either Diplomacy or Intimidate. You gain a +2 racial bonus on checks with that skill, and it is always a class skill for you. This racial trait replaces crafty.

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

Alchemist Add +1/2 to the number of bombs per day the alchemist can create.

Race Traits

Kobold Scale Coloration

Kobolds are zealously proud of their draconic heritage, and make much of the physical similarities they share with those regal monsters. One of the most obvious similarities between the two races is their distinctively reptilian scales, which come in five chromatic colors. As with dragons, the color of a kobold's scales often corresponds to a variety of innate abilities, tendencies, and personality traits it possesses. Scale coloration plays a subtle yet vitally important role in relationships both between kobold tribes and within them.

Though some traits are common to all kobolds, the following race traits are particular to kobolds of certain colors. Note that kobolds born from two differently colored parents are colored like one parent or the other, rather than a mix of the two. Kobolds characters are not restricted from taking traits from another color, though the following traits are typical of each color, and considered prestigious.

Black-Scaled Kobolds

Like the black chromatic dragons they venerate, black kobolds often lurk in fetid swamps. With an affinity for acidity and corruption, these marsh dwellers revel in decay.

Rare Scale Colors

Though the majority of kobolds exhibit one of the five major chromatic colors, occasionally individuals emerge with alternate pigmentations, with the most common being purple, orange, and yellow. Those who possess the rarer colors described below are discriminated against by their homogeneous tribe-mates, but these colors do have unique benefits. In addition to the attested colorations listed below, translucent-scaled kobolds are rumored to exist, but these “ghost kobolds” haven't been encountered in centuries.